Pie art

Like other piemakers I spoke to, Tanne Walker revealed family played a vital role in her life and career. Unlike other piemakers, though, when I saw Walker selling pies at the Clintonville Farmers Market (she bakes both buttery and vegan varieties), our pastry discussion led to a short discourse on the Tibetan Book of the Dead.

That might sound like an unlikely segue and Humble Pie might sound like an unassuming business name, but these verbal twirls make sense once you know that, like her father, Tanne Walker is a Buddhist. Walker’s study of Buddhism actually led to baking when, during a high school internship at a meditation center, she began working on organic farms and helping out in kitchens.